Echo Through The Ages
by DeadQuinn
Summary: Echo is a Amity born girl. She knows where she belongs, but it's not where she wants to be.
1. Chapter 1

_I remember when I was nine and I had gotten into an argument with another little boy. I can't remember what about or who was at fault, but I remember kicking him, then pushing him down. _

_I also remember Johanna taking me home and explaining what happened to my parents. They, of course, were incredibly disappointed in me but agreed to let Johanna deal my punishment. _

_So, everyday, after school, I would go to the art building and clean. Empty trash cans, clean paint brushes, put away various art materials. I hated it. At that stage in my life, I wanted nothing more to run around outside or roughhouse with my brothers or play with the other little girls and make up songs. But it was better than the Conflict Room. That was torture._

_I cleaned the art building for three weeks, the same things over and over again, all afternoon till the sun disappeared and there was no light left to play in. _

_One day, while cleaning a room that was still occupied, the artist, a older man, asked me if I liked to draw. When I shook my head, he asked if I've ever tried it. He handed me a piece of charcoal and a sheet of paper._

_I remember asking what I was suppose to draw and he asked me what my favorite thing was. I said the sun. All afternoon, instead of cleaning, I sat with Zen and learned the finer points of drawing. _

_It was late when Johanna entered the room, well after the time I was suppose to be home. I don't think I knew she was there at first, so swept up in the world I was making in front of me, but I was later told that she stood in the doorway watching me for a long time. _

_She says that I was a mess. Covered in dark smudges, hair wild, bent over a table covered in pieces of paper with various things etched on them and every so often I would let out a elated giggle. _

_Apparently, this had been her plan all along. She knew I was creative, from the stories I would tell and the games I would make, but had trouble controlling my energy. She had the idea of giving me an outlet as controlled as artwork to help focus my energy into something productive, but knew I had to fall in love with it myself, forcing me to do it would only backfire. _

_I also remember hearing the story for the first time when I was thirteen. It was my first art show. Between the painting of the orchards and a charcoal sketch of the Hub with only the peoples clothing colored, I was told how I was tricked into this love._

_The anger was quick and hot, burning through me. I felt betrayed and resentful, furious that I had been manipulated into this. It took three of my brothers, several broken glasses and a couple of hours in the Conflict Room before I was calm enough to listen to Johanna and my parents explain why they did what they did. _

_In the end, I forgave them, realizing my feelings were petty and unkind. Just as quick as my anger, my forgiveness came forward and all was absolved, but never forgotten. I loved my parents and in my eyes, they could do no wrong, but Johanna. While I respected her and looked up to her, I never forgot the quiet way she had manipulated not only me, but my parents as well. _

_Never forgot the way it felt to be a plaything, movements orchestrated by another to fit into their game. The lack of control. _

Echo rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand, leaving a smudge of black on the tan skin. Sighing, she glanced around again, looking for the familiar green truck that her brother, Basil, drove. He was late, again. No doubt caught up in newly wedded bliss with Sarah. Echo smiled and shook her head, returning her attention to the sketchbook cradled in her lap.

She wasn't sure how much longer it had been, but when a shadow fell over her, Echo snapped out of the art inducing haze and looked up. Two Candor boys stood before her.

"Hey." The boy closest to her spoke up. Echo noticed he had a sweet smile and pretty brown eyes. She couldn't help but smile in return.

"Hello." She said softly, gathering her things and standing. The two Candor boys stepped back to give her more room, casually glancing around the empty courtyard.

"Why are you all alone, Amity?" The first boy asked, stepping closer and resting an arm on the wall. Echo tilted her head, noticing the invasion of space but refusing to let it affect her.

"Waiting on my ride." She answered.

"I have something you can ride." The second, taller, boy retorted. Echo looked at him.

"Excuse me?" The first boy slipped in front of the second, his other arm coming down on the wall on her other side and trapping her.

"What my friend means, is that your really pretty and we are dying to get a look at what's under your dress. Think you'd be willing to help us out?"

"No." Echo scowled and tried to force her way by the boy, only to have him grab her arm and shove her against the wall.

"C'mon, just a quick peek. It'll be fun, we promise." The boy grinned and pressed a hand to her chest.

Echo wasn't sure what happened at first. One moment the boy was feeling up her chest and the next he was falling back against his buddy, holding his face. Echo looked around, confused. It wasn't till her hand started throbbing that she realized she punched him.

Echo was surprised. Surprised that she had it in her, surprised that she didn't feel bad about it, surprised that it felt kind of good.

"That wasn't very nice." Echos head jerked up. The two boys looked mad. Suddenly, was she scared. She doubt she could fend them off. The first boy reached for her hair before a hand stopped him.

"Are these guys bothering you?" A voice asked. Echo followed the hand to a boy, about her age, in all black. Behind him were two more boys, also in black. Echo recognized them as Zane, Hunter and Ryker, three Dauntless born from her class. She nodded and slipped behind Zane. Hunter wrapped an arm around Echos shoulders and Ryker took a step in front of her, half blocking her from the conflict.

"We were only messing with her." The Candor boy said, jerking his arm out of Zane's grip and stumbling back.

"We're just gonna mess with you too." Ryker growled, stepping closer to the two boys. They shrunk back, falling over each other in their haste to get away.

"Thank you." Echo said, stepping away from Hunter and rubbing her hand. Zane and Ryker turned to face her.

"You've got one hell of a right hook." Zane said, smiling at her.

"Yeah, you're like a banjo strummin' badass." Hunter spoke up, laughing at his own joke. Echo grinned before noticing a green truck parked next to the hub and her brother practically running towards her.

"Are you okay?!" Basil asked, yanking her into his embrace. She pulled away and nodded.

"Yeah, some Candor boys were bothering me but Zane, Ryker and Hunter helped me." Echo told her brother, pulling her sleeve down to cover the abused skin on her knuckles. Even if he was her brother and she was being attacked, he wouldn't approve of the violence she used. Like the Candor boy said, it wasn't very nice and her family and faction was all about nice.

"You know our names?"

"We weren't gonna let those cowards hurt you." Echo wasn't sure who said what, but when she turned, all three boys were watching her closely.

"Well, thank you for protecting my sister. Say thank you Echo." Basil placed his hand on Echos shoulder.

"She already did." This time Echo knew it was Zane that spoke. He smiled at her and handed her, her bag. Echo returned the smile, briefly meeting his green eyes, before feeling her brother take her arm.

"Let's go Firefly." Echo turned and let her brother lead her to his truck. The ride home was different, Echos mind was riddled with thoughts of Dauntless and the boys who protected her, especially the one with eyes the color of new grass.


	2. Chapter 2

_I use to have six brothers. I use to be the fifth oldest. Basil was first, always looking after the rest of us, then came Wind and River, the soft spoken twins, three years later. A year later, Spirit was born, and not quite a year later, came me. Sage was born four years later and two years after him, Eclipse. _

_Seven kids. I'm not sure how my parents did it. Especially with Spirit and I. We were always the trouble makers, running around causing chaos. Like the time we accidentally let the bull loose, or when we stole the turkey's eggs and they chased us through the compound. _

_Then the accident happened. It was after Spirit turned eight but I was still seven. We were playing Dauntless and climbing the side of our house, when Spirit slipped. I had tried to hang on to him, tried to pull him back up. But I wasn't strong enough. He fell and broke his neck, dying instantly. _

_The next couple of weeks passed in a haze. I remember it was like I was seeing everything through dirty glass. The funeral, our friends and family, my mother crying. I didn't speak much during that time, overwhelmed with the guilt, but I don't think anyone noticed. It was like I wasn't even there, and if I was, they didn't seem to care enough to see how I was doing. _

_Sleep was the worst though. Nightmares, of seeing my brother fall, of my family telling me that it was my fault. Of course I believed them. If I had been stronger, faster, braver, I could've done something._

_This continued for weeks. I ate less and less till I ate nothing, barely slept, barely spoke. Then one day, my mother looked at me. Just stopped and looked at me for a long time, before she fell to her knees and hugged me. She told me how sorry she was, that it wasn't my fault, how happy she was that it hadn't been both of us. _

_It took a long time for my family to come back from that loss. We still talk about Spirit sometimes, my older brothers telling stories of the mischief he and I would cause, my parents smiling sadly. But I never forgot the helplessness, feeling weak and scared, the sorrow. The complete lack of power._

In the months following the incident with the Candor boys, whom she noticed practically ran in the other direction when they saw her, Echo caught herself watching the Dauntless more and more.

Her sketchbook was filled with pictures of them jumping off the train, climbing, running, tattoos. She was obsessed.

It was that obsession that led her to this moment. Standing in front a group of Dauntless born, trying to remember how to speak.

"Spit it out, Softie." Echo glared at Ryker, before glancing at the rest of the black clad kids, her eyes falling on Zane.

"Tell me about Dauntless."

Her request had shocked them, like she knew it would, but they invited her to sit with them and immediately began describing things at Dauntless and telling stories. One girl, Echo was pretty sure her name was Lexie, was telling her about the Chasm.

"Hold on." Echo interrupted, reaching for her bag and digging out a pencil and her sketch book. Opening it, she drew a river with cliffs on either side and a bridge. Lexie moved to sit next to Echo and looked over her shoulder.

"The bridge is metal. And shorter." Echo adjusted the picture.

"The sides aren't that tall. The waters rougher. A lot rougher. The pit is on this side. There should be tunnels here, here and here. It's like one big cave." Echo fixed the drawing as Lexie informed her but she stopped at the last comment.

"A cave? How do you see?" Echo asked, confused.

"We've got night vision." Ryker spoke up, rolling his eyes. Zane glared at his friend, elbowing him.

"How do you think we see? Lights." Ryker rubbed his side. Echo felt her face heat up but smiled at him.

"Really, cause you do look kind of ratty." It was silent for a few moments, before the group exploded into laughter. It took a bit for the group to quiet down, when it did, Echo focused on finishing up her drawing of the Chasm with Lexie's direction while Hunter launched into the story of why he calls Echo a 'banjo strummin' badass'.

"Wow." Echo looked up a few moments later, noticing everyone looking at her, most impressed or shocked.

"What?" She asked, subconsciously touching her face.

"It's just, an Amity punching someone? Not very amiable." One of the guys said, raising a brow. Echo smirked and shrugged, finishing he last doorway just as Lexie snatches the book from her lap.

"Damn, you can draw. Look at this." The Dauntless girl showed the group Echos drawing. They passed it around till one boy dropped it, the page flipping to a drawing of some Dauntless climbing the side of the Hub.

Echo watched in silence as they all gathered around the boy and looked at the many drawings of Dauntless. Several of the Dauntless symbol or it's flames, but mostly of its members running, climbing, sparing, jumping off the train.

A couple tense moments later, they group looked at her. Echo blushed again, and took the book back, holding it close.

"Why are there so many pictures of Dauntless?" Another girl, a quiet blonde with pretty eyes, asked. Echo shrugged and picked at a loose thread on her shirt.

"I'm not sure, but when I see you, when I see Dauntless, I feel inspired. Like I wanna create something incredibly beautiful but all I do are those sketches." Lexie tugged on a lock of Echos hair.

"You big Softie." Echo grinned and batted her hand away.

"I think it's creepy." Ryker gave Echo a dirty look and got to his feet. "Come on, the train will be here soon."

The other Dauntless born got up and said goodbye to her before turning and following Ryker. Echo sighed and got up, turning to go wait for her brother.

"I think your drawings are beautiful." Echo stopped and turned around. Zane was watching her, his green eyes studying her face before meeting her eyes.

"I... What?" He chuckled and took a step closer to her, causing Echo to have trouble remembering to breathe.

"You said we inspired you to want to create something incredibly beautiful, but all you've done are the drawings. I think your drawings are beautiful." Zane explained, smiling down at Echo. She smiled softly in return, but didn't speak. She was caught up in the moment, in the closeness of their bodies.

Then she heard Hunter yell, and the moment was broken. Zane glanced over his shoulder at his friend, waving at Hinter to let him know he was coming, before facing Echo. They looked at each other for a moment, the silence becoming awkward.

"Bye?" Echo broke the silence, her voice soft and unsure. But she smiled when Zane laughed. "Bye."


End file.
